The invention relates to a labeling station in a labeling machine having a plurality of stations disposed successively in the direction of transport of the labels, namely a label supply station, a label transfer device, especially a gripper cylinder, and in some cases a rotating glue roll, and also having at least one pickup member rotatably mounted on a revolving carrier and carried past the stations upon each revolution of the carrier, the said pickup member having a convexly curved receiving surface rolling upon the foremost label at the label supply station and, in some cases, upon the other stations as well, and having, for its rotation about its own axis, a drive which varies the rotational speed of the pickup member to bring about the rolling of the receiving surface upon the foremost label and, in some cases, upon the other stations.
In one known labeling station of this kind, the labels are disposed in a stacked arrangement in a stationary label box, the foremost label being tangential to the outer rotational path of the pickup members. Disadvantages in such a labeling station are the need to prepare the stack of labels and to feed the labels through the label box; that is, the labels have to be cut along four edges and stacked with their edges flush. These stacks are placed in the label box and advanced as the labels are removed from them. If the edges are damaged or are not precisely flush, difficulty can be encountered in the removal of the labels from the label box by the pickup members.
Also, an apparatus is known for the application of pieces of foil to bottle necks and tops, in which the pieces of foil are pulled from a band of foil supplied in roll form. The band is pulled from the roll by a revolving drum over which the band is guided and which has knives in its interior which at least score the band for division into the desired pieces by being driven outwardly through a slit in the periphery of the drum in the area of its contact with the band. In the direction of advancement of the band, the drum is followed by a pair of rollers to which the band is delivered through guiding means. This pair of rollers revolves at a speed which is constant but greater than that of the drum, so that the foremost section of the foil is separated from the rest of the band at the scored line immediately after being gripped by this pair of rollers. The pieces then pass from this pair of rollers into the device which applies the pieces to the bottles. An apparatus of this kind, for tearing off pieces supplied in roll form, cannot easily be used in a labeling station, because in the labeling operation it is important that the individual labels be picked up by the pickup member in a very precisely determined position. In the case of the known apparatus, such a precise circumferential coordination of the pairs of rollers which separate the foremost section of foil from the band is not provided, since it is not needed for the application of the pieces of foil, which in this case are unprinted sheets which are wrapped about the neck or top of the bottle (German Pat. No. 1,225,102).
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a labeling machine of the type described and having means for reliably and precisely pulling labels off a roll.